The Trucker News Staff

HART COUNTY, Ga. — A tractor-trailer driver is dead following a fiery crash Wednesday evening in Hart County, Georgia. WYFF reports that the tractor-trailer was traveling around 70 mph near mile marker 177, two miles past the South Carolina state line, when it ran off the road into the woods and caught fire. Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said the driver died in the tractor trailer. The driver was out of Florida and hauling plastic products. The crash’s cause is still under investigation.

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine and WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — The Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit will head to Florida June 23-26 to join the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in honoring American Gold Star families at the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., 85th Annual National Convention at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport in West Palm Beach. Wreaths Across America Radio will broadcast live throughout the event on the iHeart Radio app, Audacy app, TuneIn app, or at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio. “American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., is so grateful for WAA to be a part of our 85th Annual Convention and of our partnership for well over five years,” Jo Ann Maitland, national president of American Goldstar Mothers, Inc., said. “With like-minded missions, WAA brings American Gold Star Mothers throughout the United States the ability to remember, honor, and teach, with the beautiful act of placing a live, balsam wreath on the graves of our heroes. This simple but most important mission helps educate those to remember, ‘the freedoms that we enjoy are not free.” The MEE will be on display with the Global War on Terrorism Memorial, 9/11 Memorial, Hershel “Woody” Williams Educational Trailer, static display of military vehicles, and other vendors, exhibitors, and food trucks. This free event will take place at 150 Australian Ave., West Palm Beach. “The goal of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit is to bring communities together and teach about the organization’s mission while remembering the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes,” Don Queeney, director of transportation and the Mobile Education Exhibit of Wreaths Across America, said. “The exhibit serves as a mobile museum, educating visitors about the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes as well as serving as an official ‘welcome home’ station for our nation’s Vietnam Veterans. We are always overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from communities and honored to be joining the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., as they remember and honor their children.”

ATLANTA — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has launched a follow-up online survey asking truckers to provide their thoughts on the real-time parking information systems that were installed in eight Midwest states in 2019. The survey is intended to collect preference information from drivers who have used the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS), according to a news release. Drivers who operate anywhere in the Midwest states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin are encouraged to participate. The survey is available until Friday, June 24. Click here to participate.    

MIAMI — A Florida moving company has been found liable in deceptive practices and ordered to pay more than $21 million. Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida, entered a final judgment on May 20 as to liability and an order of permanent injunction against All USA Van Lines (d/b/a Top Movers Inc.) and its owner Ohad Guzi. The judgment totaled $21,789,306, including about $5.28 million in restitution imposed under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and $16.5 million in civil penalties. The ruling arose from civil complaints the Florida Attorney General’s Office filed in December 2018 against seven individuals and 19 household goods moving companies or their affiliated entities. The moving companies were all located in Broward and Dade Counties. The complaints alleged that the companies conducted deceptive moving practices by using false or deceptive advertising practices or offering low-price, purportedly binding estimates to entice customers to purchase their services. They then took custody of people’s belongings, raised prices, and forced customers to pay the inflated prices before releasing the goods. The companies also claimed that highly trained professional or expert movers would perform the services; however, untrained laborers regularly performed the moves, often damaging, destroying or stealing the customers’ property. Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General conducted this investigation with the Consumer Protection Division of the Florida Attorney General’s Office.  

DENTON, Texas — Peterbilt Motors Company announced Tuesday the opening of a full-service location in Sumner, Washington, by Dobbs Peterbilt.  The new facility is located on Highway 167 between Highways 18 and 410. It features 18 service bays capable of accommodating 27 trucks, 1,000 square feet of retail space and 30,000 square feet of parts storage. This flagship location will serve as the new western region headquarters for Dobbs Peterbilt. Dobbs has more than 20 locations spread across Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, California and Washington. “We’re very pleased to announce the opening of our brand-new Dobbs Peterbilt Sumner, Washington dealership, designed to serve our valued customers,” Mike Clark, CEO Dobbs Peterbilt, said. “We now have nine Peterbilt locations throughout Washington to serve the transportation community. The Sumner location marks our first Peterbilt Dealership we designed and constructed from the ground up. We focused on features and a layout that creates an excellent work environment that results in a great customer experience.” Dobbs Peterbilt-Sumner is located at 2800 136th Ave Court E. in Sumner, Washington, 98390. Dealer hours of operation are 7 a.m.-12 p.m. on Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. “We designed the new Sumner dealership with dedicated Parts, Service, Truck Sales and Rental & Leasing entrances along with a covered service reception area to give our customers easy access and protection from the elements,” Olen Hunter, executive vice president Dobbs Peterbilt, said. “We’ve deployed Peterbilt’s new AR Tech tool to help drive Uptime for our customers and made sure this facility is capable of servicing and supporting Battery Electric Vehicles. Our flagship Dobbs Peterbilt Sumner dealership sets a new benchmark for commercial truck dealerships on the West Coast.”  

BUFFALO, Mo. — A truck driver received minor injuries Monday when their tractor-trailer crashed on Route D two miles east of Urbana, Oklahoma. Authorities said that the big rig was hauling 300,000 eggs that were heading to area grocery stores. A photo from the Dallas County, Oklahoma, Sheriff’s Office shows a heavily-damaged bright red rig with a refrigerated trailer attached to it lying on its passenger side. The top of the trailer, which is also lying on its side, appears mangled with its roof partially sheared off. Health inspectors at the scene found that the temperature of the eggs had become too warm to save them. Now they will become fertilizer for fields in the county, officials said. That area of Oklahoma houses more than 100 poultry barns. Officials did not say how the crash happened or if any other vehicles were involved.

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has announced 32 Local Bridges Fund grants totaling more than $47 million to help counties maintain local bridges in a state of good repair. “The state of good repair of New Jersey’s transportation infrastructure is a priority of the (Gov. Phil) Murphy Administration. The Local Bridges Fund grant program offers our local governments the ability to use grant funds to invest in bridge projects in their communities,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “This grant program, along with others, continues to demonstrate NJDOT’s commitment to communities throughout New Jersey.” The Local Bridges Fund is a $47.3 million program funded through the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). The program provides funding for each of New Jersey’s 21 counties for the improvement of county bridges. The grants focus on the repair, reconstruction and replacement of bridges with the greatest structural deficiencies. The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development and evaluated by the Department’s Bureau of Structural Engineering. Each year, local aid grants represent a significant portion of the Department of Transportation’s Local System Support, which also includes municipal aid, local lead projects, regional planning and project development, and transportation alternatives projects.”

PHOENIX — To promote safety on a 20-mile segment of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), said it is installing signage that will note the new, partial restriction of heavy vehicle truck traffic on this busy section of highway. Truck traffic will be restricted to the right lane only. The signs are an interim safety measure along the final two-lane stretch of I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson that has yet to be widened to three lanes in each direction. “This segment has safety concerns due to heavy traffic flow and truck traffic,” the news release stated. “The right-lane restriction for heavy vehicle truck traffic is intended to help reduce crashes, along with the resulting delays and closures due to these incidents.” Based on data for the area where the signs are being posted, heavy vehicles were involved in about 20 percent of crashes and 15 percent of rear-end and sideswipe crashes, according to ADOT. The signs are intended to be in place until an improvement project kicks off to widen this segment of I-10. The first step is expected in 2023 with the replacement of bridges that carry traffic over the Gila River, following required environmental review and clearance. Also, ADOT is working closely with the Gila River Indian Community and the Maricopa Association of Governments to secure federal funding, to add to committed state funding, for work that could be completed as early as 2026. The signs restricting heavy vehicle truck traffic to the right lane only are similar to those that ADOT has employed elsewhere, including Interstate 17 north of Black Canyon City. Sign installation began Monday and is expected to continue through this week. ADOT has worked to coordinate the interim safety measure with DPS and the Arizona Trucking Association. ADOT officials said they will closely monitor traffic operations now that the signs and right-lane restrictions are in place. For more information about plans to widen I-10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande, visit http://i10wildhorsepasscorridor.com/.        

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced that its Build America Bureau has provided a low-interest, long-term loan of $41.55 million to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to finance 49% of the $85.97 million in eligible costs for the Rural Two-Lane Advancement And Management Plan (RAAMP). The bureau helps communities across the country reduce the costs of infrastructure projects by providing Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans, known as TIFIA loans, as well as other types of financing. Under the Rural Projects Initiative (RPI), the loan is for nearly half the project costs instead of the customary 33%, according to a news release. “The project will provide significant safety improvements, one of the primary objectives of RAAMP,” the news release stated. The project is a compilation of eight rural projects that will add nearly 27 miles of 8-foot shoulders and asphalt resurfacing as well as 6.4 miles of roadway reconstruction. The projects are located in Harper, Kingfisher, Pontotoc, Caddo, Pittsburg, McClain, Bryan and Ellis counties. “Over the last five years, 38 percent of all serious and fatal crashes in Oklahoma have occurred on rural roads with no shoulders,” Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said. “USDOT is proud to support the RAAMP program to help address safety issues and save lives in Oklahoma.” In January, amid recent troubling increases in deaths on America’s roads, the USDOT launched a comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy. To help reverse these trends and save lives, the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding to address safety, especially in rural areas, where a disproportionate number of traffic injuries and fatalities occur. “The Bureau’s Rural Project Initiative provides flexibility to deliver much-needed improvements sooner with very favorable financing terms,” Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian said. “This is our fifth RPI loan closed at half the Treasury rate, which saves project sponsors money and avoids escalating costs that make the projects more and more unattainable.” The TIFIA RPI helps improve transportation infrastructure in America’s rural communities. Under this initiative, a surface transportation project between $10 million and $100 million in an area with a population less than 150,000 can be eligible for financing with significant savings over traditional TIFIA loans and other commercial financing products, including: Loans for up to 49% of the project’s eligible costs (compared to 33% under traditional TIFIA). Fixed interest rates equal to one half of the U.S. Treasury rate of equivalent maturity of the loan at the time of closing (traditional TIFIA loans have interest rates equal to the U.S. Treasury rate at the time of closing). To date, the USDOT has closed more than $38.3 billion in TIFIA financings, supporting more than $131.7 billion in infrastructure investment across the country.  

NOGALES, Ariz. – A 26-year-old New Mexico man was arrested after police say he intentionally rammed his semi-truck into a Walmart store. Police said the incident happened at around 3:20 a.m. on June 1. No injuries were reported. Shortly after the incident, which was caught on the store’s surveillance cameras, police found driver Christian Andrews inside the store and arrested him. Photos from the Nogales Police Department show a blue semi with heavy front-end damage sitting in front a smashed wall. The truck was lodged partially inside the store before it was pulled out.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti and other state and local leaders gathered recently on the side of Route 146 in North Smithfield to break ground for the Route 146 Reconstruction Project, kicking off the 2022 construction season. The expansive $196 million project will make improvements to the Route 146 corridor, making it safer and reducing congestion, which will reduce vehicle emissions, according to an RIDOT news release. In 2020, Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation secured a $65 million federal INFRA grant — the largest the state ever received — to allow the Department to properly address all the concerns with Route 146 with a single project. The project will replace or repair five bridges, repave eight miles of roadway and build a flyover bridge to carry Route 146 over Sayles Hill Road — eliminating the traffic signal at Sayles Hill Road, the only traffic light on all of Route 146. This intersection averages more than 85 crashes per year and is a source of significant congestion and travel delay, according to RIDOT. The Route 146 Project — valued at $1.8 billion — is one of 60 projects RIDOT will work on this year, officials said. “Fueled by an infusion of funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, RIDOT has accelerated about 100 projects in its 10-year-plan,” the news release stated. “These projects include bridge rehabilitation, resurfacing, traffic safety projects, stormwater and bike/pedestrian improvements.” RIDOT will focus on paving for the next five years. It has committed $92 million to paving projects this year and $422 million over the next five years. One of the first tasks of the Route 146 project will be paving badly deteriorated sections of the highway this summer. “Thanks to the Biden Administration and our Congressional Delegation we are kicking off construction season with an infusion of federal funds that will go towards fixing our roads and bridges and creating good paying union jobs,” McKee said “As construction kicks off across our state, I ask motorists to be on the lookout for construction zones and to drive carefully when around them.” “In addition to large projects like this new one on Route 146 and the ongoing Route 6/10, Providence Viaduct, Washington Bridge and Henderson Bridge projects, we will begin a series of projects to address our deteriorated roadways,” Alviti said. “We’ll take the same aggressive approach we utilized in the RhodeWorks program to fix our structurally deficient bridges and bring our long-neglected roadways into a state of good repair.” Now in its seventh year, RIDOT’s RhodeWorks program has overseen 237 projects that include work on 359 bridges. In total RIDOT has completed 196 projects, valued at $3.1 billion. Other major projects under construction in 2022 include: The $410 million Route 6/10 Interchange Project; The $265 million I-95 Viaduct Northbound; The $164.5 million Route 37 Bridges Projects; The $84.9 million Pell Bridge Ramps Projects; The $84.4 million Henderson Bridge Project; and The $78 million Washington Bridge Project. NOTABLE QUOTES “Not only will this project relieve congestion, but it will be a relief for drivers who will no longer have to navigate gaping potholes on their daily commute. For years, Route 146 has been one of the most problematic stretches of road in the state. After decades of patches, it is in dire need of repair. I’m proud to help deliver federal funding to fix this heavily-used roadway and modernize it to improve safety, better integrate public transportation and technology, and boost local businesses.” — Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD). “I created the INFRA program to accomplish major once-in-a-generation infrastructure projects that states typically don’t have the resources to do on their own. I’m thrilled that RIDOT won its largest federal grant ever from my program, and that the funding will support job-creating upgrades to Route 146, including the elimination of the dangerous Sayles Hill bottleneck. Driving Route 146 will soon be a whole lot more pleasant and efficient.” — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.,  who authored the INFRA Program in 2015 to help meet Rhode Island’s need for large-scale infrastructure investments. “This year’s construction season is particularly exciting because it’s the first where federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is available,” “For years, Director Alviti, the folks at RIDOT, and our state’s construction crews have been hard at work to complete critical infrastructure projects from the RhodeWorks framework on-budget and ahead of schedule. This summer, I’m looking forward to watching them put these hard-earned federal dollars to work and continuing to cross these vital projects off our list.” — Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I. “Route 146 is a heavily traveled corridor that has been plagued by deteriorating conditions and outdated design, leading to congestion and vehicular collisions. I was proud to work with my colleagues to help secure a $65 million grant to help address safety concerns along this stretch of highway, and I am excited to be celebrating the kickoff of RIDOT’s construction season at this project’s groundbreaking. With the infusion of additional federal dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, our state will be able to make even greater improvements to our roads and bridges in the construction seasons to come.” Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.  Other highlights of the Route 146 project include: Replacing one bridge along the corridor and implementing preservation or rehabilitation work on four others; Building frontage roads for easy and safe access to businesses at the Sayles Hill Road interchange; Repaving Route 146 from the I-295 interchange to the Massachusetts state line; Adding bus-on-shoulder accommodations along the southern end of Route 146 in North Providence and Providence; Extending existing fiber optic lines and intelligent transportation systems/traffic monitoring from the I-295 interchange to the Massachusetts state line; Rebuilding the Route 146/Route 146A interchange, removing dangerous U-turns using a diverging diamond interchange; Extending the weave length for the Route 99 Ramp and Route 146 south; Improving the geometry of the I-295 southbound off-ramp to Route 146; Building new drainage systems; and Replacing guardrail and making other safety improvements such as wrong way driving detection systems. More than 171,000 vehicles travel Route 146 between Providence and Worcester each day. The project will be done in spring 2026. All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather. The Route 146 Project is made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT’s ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island’s transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.